Page 61 of Blind Justice

Chapter Nine

The longer they drove, the longer Raul tortured him by talking. Enzo bit his tongue several times. If he said anything, he had no doubt Raul would pull the vehicle over and they’d kill him right there in the middle of nowhere. So, he focused on Bella, knowing each mile away from the compound was another mile farther away from them finding her.

She had to survive.

Enzo schooled his features when Raul brought up his pops. He wouldn’t allow the man to get any type of reaction out of him.

“Ignacio begged for me to end his life. So, I dragged it out and made him scream for the sweet relief of my blade across his throat.” Raul turned in his seat, and their gazes clashed. “I forced him watch my men fuck Naomi. You should know, he never begged for me to spare her life.”

Enzo winced.

It didn’t surprise him about his pops. The old man had only ever been concerned about himself. Fuck everyone else. Enzo never understood why Bella’s mom married or even stayed with his pops for so long. Naomi, like her daughter, was a sweet woman. She never did shit to anyone. She deserved better and shouldn’t have died the way she did. Enzo loved Naomi like she was his birth mom, and from day one, she treated Enzo like he’d been hers. She’d gone to bat for him with the teachers, time and time again. Hell, she even went up against his pops more times than he could count. Naomi’s death hadn’t been warranted. She’d earned her happy ending.

Guilt ate Enzo.

Because of him, their parents were gone.

Because of him, they’d never have a normal life.

Bella could never know about what Raul did to Naomi. It would destroy her. He realized during the trial it would come out, and when it did, that information would be what broke his Bella. If he lived through this ordeal, he had to make another pact with Duncan to keep the circumstances of Naomi’s death secret.

“I will find Bella. She will suffer the same fate as her mother.” Raul sneered when Enzo said nothing. “Just as you’ll suffer the same as your father. It’s the cost of betraying me.”

When Enzo didn’t react to his taunts, Raul curled his lip in disgust. He got off on mind games. He enjoyed the reaction more than the accompanying fight. He’d seen the man do it time and time again. It was also why Raul liked to see Oscar fight his men. It was the idea of watching the light drain from their eyes seconds before Oscar shot them in the head. The body count, minus the ones Bella assisted, made it clear how much of a game life and death was to Raul. His reign of terror wouldn’t stop until someone ended him.

Panic settled in Enzo’s stomach as they pulled into an abandoned neighborhood. Almost all of the houses were boarded up. The front and back yards hadn’t been cut in some time, and none of the streetlights were on. They hadn’t been on the road for very long, only about twenty minutes at most, which meant they were still in or around the DC area. The house they pulled up to looked like a rundown shack. Sure, it had four walls, but the roof had holes, and the windows were cracked or broken.

Raul and the driver exited the vehicle after they parked the SUV in the driveway. When the door opened, Enzo stared at them. If they wanted him to get out, they’d have to force him. He didn’t have to make it easy on them. This was where Raul brought him to die, so Raul had to work for it.

The second the man to his right reached for him, Enzo mule kicked him, landing the blow in the middle of his massive chest. The man grunted, taking a knee, while the other bodyguard grabbed for Enzo again. He wished he could throw a punch, but fucking Raul had bound his hands. When Enzo launched into another kick, the second guard grabbed his leg and jerked him out before tossing him to the ground. Grit and rocks dug into his knees and face, adding to his pain. He ignored the sting, though. He still wouldn’t give the fuckers any satisfaction.

“Enough,” Raul hollered. “You knew the game when you joined up, Enzo. You played your hand, and you lost. Now you have to deal with the consequences.”

True, but nowhere in the rules did it say he couldn’t fight back. “What are you waiting for then?”

Raul smiled, twisting his scared face into an awful visage. “Your death can go quickly. All you have to do is tell me what I want to know.”

Enzo scoffed. He wasn’t a rat, and he would never give up Bella. “Vete a la mierda.” He spit out the dirt in his mouth and narrowed his eyes.

Raul brushed the dust off his suit jacket before he crouched in front of Enzo. “It’s your choice. Personally, I hope you stay silent and don’t squeal like a fucking pig. It means we can fuck you up for longer.”

Raul stepped back, and Enzo surged to his feet with help from one of Raul’s henchmen. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught the glint of something metal, shaped like a gun. The man lifted it, and a second later, another burst of pain cracked through his skull. His vision narrowed to where Raul stood five feet or so in front of him. He noticed the cruel smirk on his face and the distinct outline of another figure beside him. Enzo didn’t understand what was happening. He took a step forward then everything went dark.

Enzo groaned.Where the fuck am I?The sickening throb in his head confirmed his suspicions from before. He had a concussion. When he opened his eyes, the world spun, and his stomach lurched. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast, so even as his stomach pitched, nothing came out. He dry-heaved once more then groaned. Every inch of his body hurt like a son of a bitch. Was his own fault too. If only he’d been paying attention. He hadn’t even realized he’d stepped off the property until he got cracked in the head. He took several deep breaths, willing his body to settle so he could think.

He’d been zip tied to a heavy wooden chair. His arms were secured behind him, and his ankles were held to the chair’s legs. He glanced around the room, trying to adjust to the low light, even with the halo effect caused by the concussion. The house was also quiet. Abnormally so. He should’ve heard talking, but there was nothing. Had he blown an ear drum? It would make sense.

He wigged his fingers in an attempt to restore blood flow to his hands and brushed up against warm flesh and a delicate hand.Hijo de puta. He wasn’t alone.

Enzo forced his eyes open. Even though he hadn’t told Raul where Bella was hiding, he was terrified the man had somehow found her. He glanced over his shoulder and winced as pain lanced his head. Another person sat to the side, almost behind him. They were back to back. Surprise and shock filled him. The person had short, curly brown hair mussed up from what Enzo suspected was fighting. A cast covered her arm as well. She wore a school uniform.What the fuck is going on here?

“You’re a kid,” he said, his voice weak and thready.

She nodded.

When she turned her head, he swore he was looking at a younger, prettier version of Raul. The stories were right. From the time he joined the Nieto Cartel, he’d heard rumors about Raul having a kid. No one saw her or him, so it’d been relegated to an urban legend. “You look like him. People have been placing bets on your legitimacy for years.”

The elusive child of Raul, one he rarely acknowledged. He’d overheard some of Raul’s men in Mexico talk about her abilities with numbers and what she did for her father. Like everything Raul possessed, he used her. At one point, they’d heard speculations Raul was going to bring her to Mexico and sell her off like all the others. Their boss, who’d so adamantly demanded their allegiance, didn’t even show honor toward his own blood. He’d have to tread carefully with her. For all, he knew she was a plant, a way to glean information from Enzo about Bella.

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